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Pakistan: provisional registration and graduates of unrecognised institutions, in PM&DC's words

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

These are Pakistan's rules, set by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC), for graduates of foreign institutions who seek provisional registration or sit the National Registration Examination (NRE) in Pakistan. Paragraph 2 of PM&DC's public notice of 22 October 2025 says that graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by PM&DC shall not be issued provisional registration unless they have qualified from a PM&DC recognised institution. This page sets out that notice, PM&DC's press release of 14 September 2025, the eligibility wording of the NRE 2024 standard, and PM&DC's Students Alert for Admission Abroad, each with its date. For the page on practising back home, see this register's section page.

What the 22 October 2025 public notice says

The notice is Public Notice No. Exam-59/2025, dated 22 October 2025, issued by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (Registrar). It has four paragraphs.

  • Paragraph 1 says PM&DC has initiated the process of recognition of foreign medical and dental institutions that award undergraduate degrees to Pakistan nationals, and that the PM&DC website is updated from time to time.
  • Paragraph 2 says that graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by PM&DC shall not be issued provisional registration unless they have qualified from a PM&DC recognised institution.
  • Paragraph 3 says that, for foreign graduates seeking eligibility to appear in the NRE, recognition of the respective foreign regulatory authorities, along with accreditation of the institution by the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), shall be the standard criteria.
  • Paragraph 4 says candidates may visit the ECFMG website that the paragraph names to review the recognition status of a foreign institution.

Paragraph 3 concerns eligibility to appear in the NRE. Paragraph 2 concerns provisional registration. The two are given separately here. None of the four paragraphs names a country or an institution.

What the September 2025 press release says

The press release is dated 14 September 2025 and is titled "Registration Examination is Mandatory for all Foreign Medical Graduates under the Law; Patient Safety Prime Importance for the PM&DC". It is a press release, not a regulation. It states the following.

  • The PM&DC Act 2022 provides for the Council to assess and recognise foreign medical institutions.
  • Only those graduates of foreign institutions duly recognised by PM&DC are eligible for the issuance of provisional registration.
  • These graduates may be granted provisional registration.
  • They are mandatorily required to pass the NRE before obtaining a full licence to practise.

Who may sit the NRE: the NRE 2024 standard

The document is the National Registration Examination (Medical): Standard, Structure and Syllabus 2024, published by PM&DC. Section II of the standard gives no date of issue. Section II says the NRE 2024 was designed under Section 18 of the PM&DC Act 2022.

Under the eligibility wording in Section II, candidates who have graduated from PM&DC approved foreign medical colleges with an MBBS/MD or equivalent degree (as per the approved foreign degree nomenclature), along with a provisional licence issued by PM&DC, are eligible to sit for NRE 2024.

The same section also says the following.

  • Passing the NRE, both the theory and clinical skills examination components, is mandatory for obtaining a full licence to practise as a General Practitioner.
  • The NRE will be held at least twice a year.
  • There is no bar on the number of times a candidate can attempt the complete NRE.

The eligibility wording in Section II is different from paragraph 3 of the notice of 22 October 2025, and both differ from the press release of 14 September 2025. Each is given here with its own date and is not merged with the others.

What the Students Alert says

The Students Alert for Admission Abroad is PM&DC's notice to candidates seeking admission to foreign undergraduate medical or dental institutions. The text states that its formalities are effective from the Session 2024-2025. The text of the alert carries no date. The file name gives 23-01-25.

The alert lists the following formalities.

  • The student must have passed FSC (Pre-Medical) or equivalent with a minimum of 60% marks.
  • The student must have qualified in SAT-II with a minimum score of 550 in each subject, or in a foreign MCAT or UCAT examination with 50% marks in the mandatory subjects Biology, Chemistry, and either Mathematics or Physics, in a Higher Secondary School Certificate or equivalent.
  • The student must have Registration with PM&DC to pursue education at a foreign institution.

The alert also has a line on MDCAT marks. This page does not give that line. Readers should check PM&DC's current notices for it.

The alert says the list of accredited foreign institutions is available on the PM&DC website. It also says that all students seeking admission to foreign institutions are advised to strictly follow the PM&DC criteria, including mandatory online registration, to become eligible for the issuance of Provisional Registration and the NRE under the PM&DC Act, 2022.

Questions people ask

Can a graduate of an institution PM&DC does not recognise get provisional registration?

Paragraph 2 of PM&DC's public notice of 22 October 2025 says graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by PM&DC shall not be issued provisional registration unless they have qualified from a PM&DC recognised institution. The press release of 14 September 2025 states that only graduates of foreign institutions duly recognised by PM&DC are eligible for the issuance of provisional registration.

Who may sit the National Registration Examination?

Section II of the NRE 2024 standard says candidates who graduated from PM&DC approved foreign medical colleges with an MBBS/MD or equivalent degree, along with a provisional licence issued by PM&DC, are eligible to sit for NRE 2024. Paragraph 3 of the notice of 22 October 2025 says that, for eligibility to appear in the NRE, recognition of the respective foreign regulatory authorities, along with ECFMG accreditation of the institution, shall be the standard criteria.

Where can a candidate check the status of an institution?

Paragraph 4 of the notice of 22 October 2025 says candidates may visit the ECFMG website that it names to review the recognition status of a foreign institution. The Students Alert says the list of accredited foreign institutions is available on the PM&DC website, and that candidates should check the PM&DC website for more details.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary of the documents listed above. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

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